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Dutch lawyer backs ABN move to sell LaSalle

Investorsâ€™ hopes for a full-blown takeover battle for ABN Amro suffered a setback on Tuesday when a senior Dutch legal official argued that the Dutch bank did not need to put the sale of its US subsidiary, LaSalle, to a shareholder vote.

The attorney-general to the Dutch Supreme Court argued that the Enterprise Chamber had stretched the definition of the law by deciding to impose a shareholder vote under section of article 2.8 of the Dutch commercial code, which sets out principles of fiduciary duties.

He argued that confidence in the rule of law demanded that such a decision be based on a broadly accepted interpretation of the law, which was lacking in this case. As a result, he advised the Supreme Court to dismiss the Enterprise Chamberâ€™s verdict, which had ruled that ABN Amro could not sell LaSalle without approval from shareholders.